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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28146231">faster than starlight</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sgrAyonderii/pseuds/sgrAyonderii'>sgrAyonderii</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, Post-Canon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:23:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,621</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28146231</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sgrAyonderii/pseuds/sgrAyonderii</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Growing old together was a luxury. AU.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>faster than starlight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p></p><div class=""><p> </p>
<p></p><div class=""><p>It makes absolutely no sense that the child in front of him is his daughter, yet as soon as she utters a heartbroken “Papa,” Sasuke knows it to be true.</p></div><div class=""><p>But he doesn’t have time to concern himself with mismatched memories and unfounded theories. The facts are these: someone has threatened his child and his wife has been kidnapped.</p></div><div class=""><p>In the aftermath, he is so relieved that he writes off his hazy memories of a child barely reaching his knees as a manifestation of his desperation.</p></div></div><div class="">
  <hr/>
</div><div class="">
  <p>During  his regular check ins, Naruto grumbles that he needs to stay in contact more often. The Hokage waves his arms around in a way that is supposed to be threatening and berates him on proper reconnaissance protocol. “And Sakura-chan is lonely with you gone so long!” he adds in at the end of his tirade.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sasuke scoffs because that idiot is the last person to be talking to him about protocol with his noodle stained shirt and toppling mountains of paperwork. And he can't help but feel a bit insulted by the implication that his self imposed gag order included Sakura.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She is his wife. His beloved partner and his most trusted confidante. Even if it was technically not related to his mission, he keeps contact with her regularly without fail. Sasuke has never been as good as expressing himself as well as he should, but he knows that Sakura in her endless patience found a way to understand him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <hr/>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sometimes, Kakashi invites him to lunch.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It is always slightly awkward and spent more often than not in silence. Or in uncomfortable one-sided conversation about erotica.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>But at the end of every meal, Kakashi claps him on the shoulder, telling him to not be a stranger with a chuckle. But the laugh never quite reaches his eyes.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Remember you always have a home here.” Kakashi tells him. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <hr/>
</div><div class="">
  <p>At times, Sarada is overjoyed when he comes back. She attaches herself to his side and chatters about nonsensical things that reminds Sasuke of his wife.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>But sometimes, Sarada is cold.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She is stand-offish and acts as if he committed another unforgivable sin. She makes snide comments about leaving mama by herself and scathing comments about forgetting his daughter’s face.  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Perhaps this is a rebellious phase? Children grow up fast Sakura tells him.  And who is he to question her?</p>
</div><div class="">
  <hr/>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It is subtle, almost unnoticeable. But there are times at home when things are slightly off.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The apartment always seems to be in need of some repair. Every time he seems to even blink, a new piece of technology seems too occupy their living room mantle. And there are no calendars in the house.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>In hindsight, he is sure that Sakura is the first to notice. But Sasuke is a boiling frog and he doesn’t realize until it’s too late.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He should have figured from the relief in her eyes whenever he returns home. Or on the quiet nights when she holds his hand so tight as if he will disappear. He should have noticed from the desperation in her kisses. He should have seen it in the falter of her smile.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>And then Sakura starts hiding her appearance.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>At first, Sakura brushes it off as a bad haircut she is too embarrassed to show others. Then it’s a particularly bad sunburn. After that an allergic reaction to a lotion from Ino gifted her.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He tries to not let it bother him. But with every progressive visit home, the stronger the illusions Sakura wraps herself in. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He feels like he has not seen his wife in ages.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Until, one day on an unexpected stop home, he catches an unfamiliar middle aged woman in his home. This woman attempts to cast her genjutsu as soon as she notices him but his eyes are quicker. Sasuke dispels the illusion, striding forward until they are face to face.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He reaches out to her but she flinches back. The woman immediately starts apologizing, but Sasuke in between the roaring in his ears and the constricting of his throat, cannot make sense of her ramblings. However in the midst of her panic and his confusion, he does recognize the seal on Sakura’s forehead.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>And for him, the pieces finally start falling into place.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>So Sasuke asks the question that he has been dreading but never acknowledging, “How long have I been gone?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <hr/>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The further he travels, the more time passes. It is simple physics. It is the law of the universe.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The remnants of Kaguya are far in between and past distant suns. His Rinnegan, his wife theorizes, is like a blackhole connecting two points, compressing space and time in a way that cuts across the cosmos.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sasuke is a shooting star in the grand scheme of things, where great distances are crossed in a blink of his eye while all he cares about on earth is spinning madly on without him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He watches as Sakura carefully aligns the hundreds of letters and messages and gifts he sent in the order she receives them.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sasuke picks up the last correspondence, two weeks ago for him but half a year for Sakura. After a long time when he can finally keep his voice from trembling, he asks “Why didn’t you tell me?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I just didn’t know how to tell you.” Sasuke has never seen Sakura look so ashamed. She covers her face to hide from him but her tears still fall silently. “It would have just caused you more pain.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“And keeping this from me wouldn’t?!” He is shaking and his Sharingan bleeding. He feels the familiar sting of betrayal. Because of all people, his wife is the person he trusts the most.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>But Sakura, despite her tears, speaks calmly. Determined. Resigned. She still does not look at him and he cannot see anything else but her. “If you had known...” she is shaking too now. “If you had known dear, that this would happen every time you go.... Would you still leave?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>And both husband and wife know his answer.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <hr/>
</div><div class="">
  <p>A presence like Kaguya’s cannot be tolerated. Even if he cannot watch Sarada grow up. Even if cannot be by Sakura’s side. As long as they are safe in a corner of the universe, Sasuke is willing to sacrifice anything.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It is a habit now to check the date when he returns.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sometimes only a few weeks have passed. Other times, months have elapsed. But regardless, Sasuke tries to return as much as possible if only for his own sanity. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Those visits home reinforce what he is fighting for. He wants to protect the place his brother died for. He wants to help Naruto who saved him. He wants a world where Sakura can smile and where Sarada no longer has to fight.  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>But most of all, in the darkest most fragile part of his heart, he knows that in reality he just can not bear losing anyone else.  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>And eventually, the Seventh Hokage informs him that the last visages of Kaguya are discovered in the depths of a lost faraway planet. The final nail in her coffin.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It breaks his heart to tell his family.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>There is no telling when he will return, if he returns at all. And judging by the distance, Sasuke isn’t even sure anyone will be left to return to.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It is a selfish thing for him to ask of her. He should be wishing for her happiness; he should be freeing her from being chained to him. But he asks anyways, because even if it is a lie, Sasuke needs a reason to endure.  A quiet request. A promise.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Will you wait for me?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sasuke desperately wants a home to return to and to him, Sakura has always encompassed that feeling.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <hr/>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The next time he returns, his mission is complete and it has been a decade since Sarada’s face has been carved onto the mountain.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sakura’s hair is gray now and her vision is blurry. She has wrinkles under her eyes and her once strong hands are withered.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>They are separated by a lifetime now.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>I’m home.</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Sakura, I’m sorry for everything.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>But she still smiles for him like she always does. Like she did when they were young and so hopeful for the future. “Welcome home Sasuke-kun.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <hr/>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Nowadays, Sasuke Uchiha is nothing but ghost story. More legend than man and more cautionary tale than hero.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>And nowadays, man slightly younger than the Hokage accompanies Sakura Uchiha.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>No one knows where he comes from, just that he appears one day and immediately worms himself into the heart of the Uchiha matriarch.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>On the good days, the villagers watch the young man walk side by side with the aging woman. Sakura Uchiha speaks more animatedly than she has in years and the young man smiles tenderly at her as if she is the only person in the world.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Some villagers click their tongues in disapproval. They raise issue with the Hokage about how this swindler is taking advantage of the affections of poor old woman. The old woman’s years of loneliness has made her susceptible to his gold digger’s charms.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Others pity Sakura Uchiha. She is a woman from such a humble background who rose the ranks and accomplished  so much only to be abandoned by the man she loved. Even if it was unorthodox, they wanted the old woman to have a bit of happiness.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>But Sarada Uchiha dismisses these rumors and speculations with a sad smile, merely telling her bothersome citizens to leave the couple alone and let them live in peace.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>And this man, who comes out of nowhere like a lone meteor, stays by Sakura Uchiha’s side until the end of her days.</p>
</div>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Originally posted on tumblr on 12/27/2019. Another sad one, but time dilation has always been one of my favorite physics/sci-fi concepts. Thank you for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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